Review: Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Reviews

Reinas/Queens

Women of a certain age

By NINA MACLAUGHLIN | September 20, 2006

2.0 Stars

REINAS: No question who the real queens are.

Manuel Gómez Pereira’s ensemble comedy about five mothers and their sons the day before the young men are set to be married as part of Spain’s first legal gay marriage ceremony sends out whispers of Pedro Almodóvar. But as the film hurtles along with manic pacing and a series of wacky complications (a hotel strike, all sorts of sexual tension, and, most cloying of all, a lost sheepdog), those whispers get quieter and quieter and it devolves into a sit-com, warm-hearted but too cute. Still, the portrayal of the five over-55-year-old women — hotel entrepreneur Magda (Carmen Maura), Argentine chef Ofelia (Betiana Blum), actress Reyes (Marisa Paredes), sex addict Nuria (Verónica Forqué), and judge Helena (Mercedes Sampietro) — as sexually potent, professionally successful, and independent is refreshing; there’s no question who the movie’s real queens are.

On the Web:
Queens's official Web site:http://www.queens-themovie.com/

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Watch the trailer for Queens (QuickTime)

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